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Vermaelen - Strike duo gaining momentum

By Nick Ames

Thomas Vermaelen has hailed two players who have recently struck rich veins of goalscoring form.

Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud hit their eighth and fourth goals of the season respectively in Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw at Schalke, following on from their impressive exploits at Reading a week previously.

The Gunners’ captain believes that the pair give the team extra potency ahead of a tough game with Fulham.

“I was very glad to see Olivier and Theo score our goals,” Vermaelen told the Official Matchday Programme.

“Olivier is now playing regularly and has been able to find some momentum, being in the team two or three times a week. That’s particularly good for a striker, and the fact that he is scoring goals in all competitions gives him a massive boost for the future.

“As for Theo, we all know what he can bring us - he is so quick and stretches the pitch really well, pulling the opposition out of shape and troubling them with his runs in behind.

"That’s sometimes exactly what you need in a game - the option to put the ball in those areas for runners. Theo is very dangerous in situations like that.”

Goals will certainly be needed against an enterprising Fulham side managed by Martin Jol who, like Vermaelen, was previously with Dutch side Ajax.

“They’re doing quite well this season, and there’s never an easy time to play them - I haven’t beaten them too many times in my career,” he said.

“We know that any team managed by Martin Jol will play good football. He managed Ajax, but arrived just after I left - I don’t know too much about how he works, except that he likes his teams to go out and play.

"That will make for an interesting game, but above all it’s a very big one for us and the three points will be very important.”

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